Squash On Fire Open 2024 Semi-Finals: Player Reaction

It’s semi-finals day at the Squash On Fire Open 2024, with four matches to come from the PSA World Tour Bronze event in Washington DC.

Action begins at 13:00 (GMT-5) and is available to watch live on SQUASHTV. Keep up to date with all of the results and reaction as they come in by reading below.

You can also keep track of the live scores by heading to the PSA Live Scores page or by following the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

Order Of Play

Brilliant Orfi Defeats Sobhy In Three

No.3 seed Amina Orfi produced a superb display to knock out home favourite Sabrina Sobhy in three games and progress to her second consecutive final at the Squash On Fire Open, claiming victory by an 11-6, 11-7, 13-11 scoreline. 

Orfi dictated the early proceedings on her own terms, with her straight hitting down the backhand wall causing Sobhy particular issues. The Egyptian raced into a 6-0 lead and never let the American back in, taking a ten-minute opening game by an 11-6 scoreline. 

The pair traded points to 5-5 in the second, but a Sobhy error into the tin at 5-6 down proved costly. Another drop shot into the tin from the World No.15 gave Orfi four game balls, and at the second time of asking, the 16-year-old doubled her advantage in the match. 

Sobhy came out firing in the third, progressing into a 5-3 lead, but Orfi remained composed, sticking to her tight lines to win five points on the bounce. Sobhy looked to take the ball early whenever possible, but the quality from the Egyptian was too high. 

The teenager moved to 10-8 up, but Sobhy refused to give up without a fight, finding two winners to force a tie-break. Despite the No.2 seed saving a third match ball at 11-10 down, Orfi eventually prevailed, winning an incredible final rally with a backhand volley drop. 

After the match, Orfi said: “I’m so happy because she is such a good player, and last time I won 3-2, so I knew it was going to be tough. The first game was very crucial, the last two matches, the start in my first game wasn’t the best, so today I just focused on that. 

“I tried to not open up the court too much because she volleys a lot and she has great skills, so I tried to close the court and make it a bit bigger for her. 

“[In the third] I lost my focus a bit and it was important to win it, because if I lost it I knew she would make a comeback. She has great fitness so I tried to finish so I can rest and save everything I have got for tomorrow.” 

Result:

[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 13-11 (45m)

Soliman Battles Past Ibrahim In Four 

No.2 seed Youssef Soliman continued his fine form at the Squash On Fire Open after defeating No.4 seed Youssef Ibrahim in an entertaining all-Egyptian semi-final. 

As was the case when the pair contested a five-game epic at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions just last month, the opening exchanges were well fought, with the pair trading points to 4-4. 

However, as the first progressed, Soliman’s consistent squash forced his opponent into some costly errors. From 5-4 down, Soliman won seven of the next eight points to move into a one-game lead after 17 minutes. 

The second was played out in a similar manner, with Ibrahim advancing into an early 5-3 lead but Soliman managing the business end with great composure. The World No.12 nullified Ibrahim’s dangerous weapons with some superb movement, while hitting his own tight lines into the back two corners. 

After Soliman took a 2-0 lead, it was Ibrahim who came charging back into the match, finding his targets in the front two corners and limiting the errors from his own racket. ‘The Gunslinger’ subsequently brought the match back to 2-1. 

Traffic in the middle of the court dominated a back-and-forth fourth game, with both players not wanting to give an inch as they moved into the business end of the match. Despite Soliman racing into a 9-3 lead, Ibrahim won four consecutive points and a subsequent match ball to bring the score back to 9-10. 

However, it was Soliman who eventually progressed, claiming victory after 65 minutes when a no-let decision was awarded in the 27-year-old’s favour. 

After the match, Soliman said: “Youssef is very tough, the way he sees the ball very early. He was everywhere, and I just had to be solid and contain him. 

“I thought I got him in the fourth, but he fought back with some incredible shots. It was 9-10 and it was very crucial, and I’m glad I managed to sneak the last point. 

“The lines and my height were important. Youssef across the middle is very dangerous. If you allow him to volley, you will be in trouble. I felt I contained him, but he found a way to get out of my containing tactic. 

“I’m glad the fourth game is finished, to be honest.”

Result

[2] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [4] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (65m)

Top Seed Gilis Powers Past Ho

Defending champion Tinne Gilis set up a rematch of last year’s final against Amina Orfi at the Squash On Fire Open after defeating No.4 seed Tomato Ho in straight games. 

Top seed Gilis flew out of the blocks, dominating the T and playing aggressively into the front two corners. The Belgian raced into a 9-2 lead with some accurate squash, closing out the first after eight minutes. 

Ho made a noticeable change to her tactics in the second game, using more height down the backhand wall to negate Gilis’ volley-drops. The Hong Kong player progressed to an 8-7 lead before being forced to call for the physio after a tumble in the back forehand corner. 

Upon returning, the pair traded points to a second-game tie-break, but it was Gilis who came out on top in the pivotal moment in the match, hitting a backhand drive out of Ho’s reach to double her advantage in the match. 

The World No.7 continued to keep the pace high as the match entered the third, forcing Ho into some tough movements in the front two corners. Gilis moved into a 7-2 lead, and despite Ho hitting some counter-punches of her own as the game progressed, it wasn’t enough to stop the defending champion from claiming a straight-game victory after 37 minutes of action.

After the match, Gilis said: “I’m very happy. Being in the final here means a lot to me, I really like this event. Winning today was a tough match for sure, I’ve never played Tomato before. 

“I have to say that it was such a tough battle. She looks so casual, and it took so much of my energy. I was very happy to sneak that second game – it gave me a lot more confidence at the start of the third.”

On her upcoming final against Orfi, she added: “I’m very excited to play Amina tomorrow and hopefully get my revenge, because I played her last month and it was a tough one. She’s a very good player, so I’ll give it my all and I won’t go off court without a good fight.” 

Result:

[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [4] Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-3, 13-11, 11-6 (37m)

Pajares Conquers Crouin In 89-Minute Epic

No.3 seed Iker Pajares defeated top seed Victor Crouin in an 89-minute classic, clinching a fifth-game tie-break 13-11 to advance to the final. 

World No.20 Pajares started the match with intent, pushing Crouin into the back two corners with some immaculate lines before looking to find winners in the front two corners. A number of soft errors into the tin from the French No.1 helped Pajares take an 11-5 opening game.

Crouin bounced back in the second, regaining his accuracy down both wings and putting away any loose cross-court shots from his opponent. The top seed took an early lead and always held a significant buffer, levelling proceedings after 19 minutes. The third saw Crouin rattle off six straight points from 8-5 down to take the lead in the match for the very first time. 

Despite the disappointing nature of defeat in the third game, Pajares continued to apply the pressure on his opponent in the fourth, moving into a 6-4 lead and getting a game-ball at 10-9 up. And although Crouin saved that point with an inch-perfect drop, Pajares pulled out a miraculous dive followed by a backhand drive winner to take the fourth 12-10.

The see-saw nature of the match continued in the fifth, with Pajares chancing his arm with a string of outrageous winners to go 3-0 up, but Crouin taking six straight points to retake command of the decider. A set of brutal rallies then followed, which left both players doubled over in exhaustion on several occasions.

Crouin moved to match ball at 10-9 up and again at 11-10 up, but on both occasions, Pajares pulled off sublime winners to keep himself in the match. The Spaniard, who saw a match ball from his own racket repelled by Crouin, finally claimed victory when a straight backhand drive passed beyond the reach of the defending champion. 

After the match, Pajares said: “It was third time lucky. This is my third time here at the Squash On Fire semi-finals, I finally made it to the final with some of the best squash of my career. I’m very proud of myself – you work hard for these moments and you have to push hard for these moments. I pushed my limits today.

“I’ve been in these moments so many times in my career, just playing to the back the whole time and losing 11-6 in the fifth or something, so I wanted to attack today, be brave and sharp and I just went for it. I train all of my life for these moments, I have played these kind of [attacking] shots so many times in training, so why not in the match.

“I think I played three or four winners in the fifth game, and it made the difference today.”

Result:

[3] Iker Pajares (ESP) bt [1] Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-2: 11-5, 5-11, 8-11, 12-10, 14-12 (89m)